Monday, January 21, 2008

Interview Tips

On any given Sunday, you can most likely find me at home watching sports and getting the week's laundry done. Yes I do laundry - it is the tradeoff I have negotiated with my wife in order to reserve Sundays for sports. Right now we enjoy the NFL playoffs. Coming in February is the Daytona 500 and the beginning of the NASCAR Race to the Chase. In April my Boston Red Sox take the field. Between these favorites, there is always something to enjoy on Sunday.

In between racing up the stairs to change out loads of laundry and watching said sporting event, I also incorporate some reading time. This weekend during the Pats/Chargers game, I caught up on some magazines that had been accumulating. One of the articles was "So, Tell Me What I Want to Hear" by Cecil Donahue in GQ. While the article made some jabs at the practice of interviewing, it did present some pointers that I found worthwhile and noteworthy to share with you.

Candidates should remember:

1) Your success in the interview depends on your level of preparation.2) Research the person who will be conducting the interview.3) Make sure everything on your resume is true.4) Go in armed with a ton of good questions. (I cannot stress this point enough!!)5) If, after the interview or two or three, you should find yourself growing increasingly excited about the opportunity, don't forget the final step: ASK FOR THE JOB.

Clients conducting the interview should keep in mind:

1) Talk to the candidate's references, then ask for even more.2) Work the candidate.3) Schedule interviews with colleagues up and down the chain of command.4) Ask the candidate why he wants this position at this company.

I hope these help and please let me know your thoughts. For more pointers or general information on interviewing, give me a call or shoot me an email. You can always reach me at sty@qworksgroup.com or 803-548-8140 x30.

About Me

I am currently Talent Acquisition Partner for Ingersoll Rand, Industrial Technologies; with a focus on Operations and Integrated Supply Chain.
Previously, I was a Senior Corporate Recruiter for ServiceMaster and Sr Account Manager for a MRI Office, The Q Works Group. As a Corporate Recruiter, I was responsible for full life cycle recruiting across multiple disciplines and geographies up to and including executive level hiring. I also implemented and executed comprehensive recruitment strategies using low cost, high return on investment sourcing solutions.